Identification of GABAergic amacrine cell-like neurons developing in chick retinal monolayer cultures.
Purified neuronal monolayer cultures were prepared from embryonic chick retinae. Using immunocytochemistry for GABA and autoradiographic demonstration of [3H]muscimol uptake as markers, approximately 32% of the cells were identified as putative in vitro counterparts of gamma-aminobutyric acidergic (GABAergic) amacrine cells. Whole cell patch clamp recordings revealed close similarities between identified [3H]GABA accumulating neurons in culture and amacrine cells recorded in retinal slices, with respect to voltage-dependent membrane currents and to ion channels gated by exitatory (N-methyl-D-aspartate, kainate, quisqualate, glutamate) and inhibitory (GABA, glycine) amino acid agonists. The results demonstrate that retinal neurons are able to differentiate in dissociated retinal cultures. Such cultures may thus serve as a model system to study development and function of CNS neurons.
Huba
R
R
Max-Planck-Institut für Hirnforschung, Neuroanatomie, Frankfurt, F.R.G.
Hofmann
H D
HD
D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002642:Chick Embryo; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005998:Glycine / Q000494:pharmacology; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D009118:Muscimol / Q000378:metabolism; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology
D009118:Muscimol; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D005998:Glycine